Hand painted sign by Barry Newman, 2007, flickr photo by mnplsnnut. flickr photo India
I'm not talking about a shot of vodka here, but about social change. How it happens. "The arc of history is toward justice," Martin Luther King, Jr. said, and other progressive reformers have reiterated this transcendent view of change over time.
Yes, and the arc begins at home. It begins in our communities, in our villages, on our city streets, on farms, at the local level. Not from the top down. Not from the august heights of country presidents and
prime ministers, or the halls of congresses, parliaments and legislatures.
Change begins from the bottom up. That's how I see it happening in Ukraine, right now.
I'm not talking about a shot of vodka here, but about social change. How it happens. "The arc of history is toward justice," Martin Luther King, Jr. said, and other progressive reformers have reiterated this transcendent view of change over time.
Yes, and the arc begins at home. It begins in our communities, in our villages, on our city streets, on farms, at the local level. Not from the top down. Not from the august heights of country presidents and
prime ministers, or the halls of congresses, parliaments and legislatures.Change begins from the bottom up. That's how I see it happening in Ukraine, right now.
It's about a few people cleaning up their local parks, protesting environmental hazards like dumps in their neighborhood or gas stations on their rivers.
It's about non-profits and non-governmental agencies tending to the needs of their constituents, the harmed, the poor, the sick, the maimed, the victims of injustice.
It's about volunteers stepping up to take elected officials to task, to hold them accountable for their promises and actions. It's about the kind of work Victoria NGO does through its "Know Your Rights" and other projects. It’s about organizations like the Eastern Ukraine Center for Civil Initiatives, working to empower leaders and strengthen civil society.
These are not abstract examples. They are real. All these actions and activities are happening in eastern Lugansk oblast now, or have happened while I've been a witness to them as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
We can wait on our presidents and legislatures to make governments work for the good of the many, but we will have to wait a long time. That's what Natalia and others keep telling me, and I see that. These high-level officials are too-often more influenced by special interests, self-interest, and greed than the interest of the many, the common good. 'The greatest good for the greatest number " has seldom been public policy since John Stuart Mills promulgated it, not before or since.
That's why the grassroots work taking place in Lugansk oblast is so full of promise. It's what "participatory democracy" is all about, as my brother Loren reminds me. "Think globally and act locally," a popular slogan from the 1960s and the environmental movement tells us. It’s still good advice I think, still resonates. In fact, it's more relevant than ever. Change is on the horizon in Ukraine. Change from the bottom up.
We can wait on our presidents and legislatures to make governments work for the good of the many, but we will have to wait a long time. That's what Natalia and others keep telling me, and I see that. These high-level officials are too-often more influenced by special interests, self-interest, and greed than the interest of the many, the common good. 'The greatest good for the greatest number " has seldom been public policy since John Stuart Mills promulgated it, not before or since.
That's why the grassroots work taking place in Lugansk oblast is so full of promise. It's what "participatory democracy" is all about, as my brother Loren reminds me. "Think globally and act locally," a popular slogan from the 1960s and the environmental movement tells us. It’s still good advice I think, still resonates. In fact, it's more relevant than ever. Change is on the horizon in Ukraine. Change from the bottom up.
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